James Rosenquist
Encyclopedia
James Rosenquist is an American artist and one of the protagonists in the pop-art movement.
, North Dakota and grew up as an only child. His parents, Louis and Ruth Rosenquist of Swedish descent, were amateur pilots and moved from town to town to look for work, finally settling in Minneapolis. His mother, who was also a painter, encouraged her son to have an artistic interest. In junior high school, Rosenquist won a short-term scholarship to study at the Minneapolis School of Art
and subsequently studied painting at the University of Minnesota
from 1952 to 1954. In 1955, at the age of 21, he moved to New York City on scholarship to study at the Art Students League
.
painter. This was perfect training, as it turned out, for an artist about to explode onto the pop art
scene. Rosenquist deftly applied sign-painting techniques to the large-scale paintings he began creating in 1960. Like other pop artists, Rosenquist adapted the visual language of advertising and pop culture (often funny, vulgar, and outrageous) to the context of fine art. Rosenquist achieved international acclaim in 1965 with the room-scale painting F-111.
Rosenquist has said the following about his involvement in the Pop Art movement: "They(art critics) called me a Pop artist because I used recognizable imagery. The critics like to group people together. I didn't meet Andy Warhol
until 1964. I did not really know Andy or Roy Lichtenstein
that well. We all emerged separately."
trailer, or a box of Oxydol
detergent
, etc.) in more abstract and provocative ways.
s. One of his prints, Time Dust (1992), is thought to be the largest print in the world, measuring approximately 7 x 35 feet.
In 1994 he created the print Discover Graphics in celebration of a Smithsonian educational program detailing the printmaking process. The print's proceeds supported the Smithsonian Associates' cultural and educational programs, and an original of the lithograph hangs in the Smithsonian Art Collectors Program's ongoing exhibition, Graphic Eloquence in the S. Dillon Ripley Center
in the National Mall
.
Since his first early career retrospectives in 1972 organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art
, New York City, and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum
, Cologne
, he has been the subject of several gallery and museum exhibitions, both in the United States and abroad. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum organized a full-career retrospective in 2003, which traveled internationally, and was organized by curators Walter Hopps
and Sarah Bancroft.
Rosenquist continues to produce large-scale commissions, including the recent three-painting suite The Swimmer in the Econo-mist (1997–1998) for Deutsche Guggenheim
, Berlin, Germany, and a painting planned for the ceiling of the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France. His work continues to develop in exciting ways and is an ongoing influence on younger generations of artists. A note of interest would be that F-111 was mentioned in a chapter of Polaroids from the Dead by Douglas Coupland
.
Background and education
He was born in Grand ForksGrand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...
, North Dakota and grew up as an only child. His parents, Louis and Ruth Rosenquist of Swedish descent, were amateur pilots and moved from town to town to look for work, finally settling in Minneapolis. His mother, who was also a painter, encouraged her son to have an artistic interest. In junior high school, Rosenquist won a short-term scholarship to study at the Minneapolis School of Art
Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Minneapolis College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit four-year and postgraduate college specializing in the visual arts. Located in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, MCAD currently enrolls approximately 1,000 students offering curriculum that includes...
and subsequently studied painting at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
from 1952 to 1954. In 1955, at the age of 21, he moved to New York City on scholarship to study at the Art Students League
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
.
Early Years and Pop
From 1957 to 1960, he earned his living as a billboardBillboard (advertising)
A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure , typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers...
painter. This was perfect training, as it turned out, for an artist about to explode onto the pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
scene. Rosenquist deftly applied sign-painting techniques to the large-scale paintings he began creating in 1960. Like other pop artists, Rosenquist adapted the visual language of advertising and pop culture (often funny, vulgar, and outrageous) to the context of fine art. Rosenquist achieved international acclaim in 1965 with the room-scale painting F-111.
Rosenquist has said the following about his involvement in the Pop Art movement: "They(art critics) called me a Pop artist because I used recognizable imagery. The critics like to group people together. I didn't meet Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
until 1964. I did not really know Andy or Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
that well. We all emerged separately."
Mature work
His specialty is taking fragmented, oddly disproportionate images and combining, overlapping, and putting them on canvases to create visual stories. This can leave some viewers breathless yet others confused, making them consider even the most familiar objects (a U-HaulU-Haul
U-Haul International, Inc. is an American equipment rental company, based in Phoenix, Arizona, that has been in operation since 1945. The company was founded by Leonard Shoen U-Haul International, Inc. is an American equipment rental company, based in Phoenix, Arizona, that has been in operation...
trailer, or a box of Oxydol
Oxydol
Oxydol is the name of a laundry detergent sold in the United States and in the United Kingdom. It was created in 1914. Purchased by Procter & Gamble in 1927, it was P&G's first detergent. In the 1930s, Oxydol was the sponsor of the Ma Perkins radio show, considered the first soap opera. As Oxydol...
detergent
Detergent
A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with "cleaning properties in dilute solutions." In common usage, "detergent" refers to alkylbenzenesulfonates, a family of compounds that are similar to soap but are less affected by hard water...
, etc.) in more abstract and provocative ways.
Prints
In addition to painting, he has produced a vast array of prints, drawings and collageCollage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
s. One of his prints, Time Dust (1992), is thought to be the largest print in the world, measuring approximately 7 x 35 feet.
In 1994 he created the print Discover Graphics in celebration of a Smithsonian educational program detailing the printmaking process. The print's proceeds supported the Smithsonian Associates' cultural and educational programs, and an original of the lithograph hangs in the Smithsonian Art Collectors Program's ongoing exhibition, Graphic Eloquence in the S. Dillon Ripley Center
S. Dillon Ripley Center
The S. Dillon Ripley Center, better known simply as the Ripley Center, is one of the buildings of the Smithsonian Institution series of museums located in the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The above-ground portion is only a small pagoda, and it descends into a larger underground portion...
in the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
.
Honors
Rosenquist has received numerous honors, including selection as "Art In America Young Talent USA" in 1963, appointment to a six-year term on the Board of the National Council of the Arts in 1978, and receiving the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement in 1988. In 2002, the Fundación Cristóbal Gabarrón conferred upon him its annual international award for art, in recognition of his great contributions to universal culture.Since his first early career retrospectives in 1972 organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, New York City, and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum
Wallraf-Richartz Museum
The Wallraf-Richartz-Museum is one of the three major museums in Cologne, Germany. It houses an art gallery with a collection of fine art from the medieval period to the early twentieth century...
, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, he has been the subject of several gallery and museum exhibitions, both in the United States and abroad. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum organized a full-career retrospective in 2003, which traveled internationally, and was organized by curators Walter Hopps
Walter Hopps
Walter Hopps was an American museum director and curator of contemporary art. His obituary in the Washington Post described him as a "sort of a gonzo museum director -- elusive, unpredictable, outlandish in his range, jagged in his vision, heedless of rules."Hopps was born in Eagle Rock, Los...
and Sarah Bancroft.
Rosenquist continues to produce large-scale commissions, including the recent three-painting suite The Swimmer in the Econo-mist (1997–1998) for Deutsche Guggenheim
Deutsche Guggenheim
The Deutsche Guggenheim is an art museum, located in the ground floor of the Deutsche Bank building, a sandstone building constructed in 1920 on the Unter den Linden boulevard in Berlin, Germany....
, Berlin, Germany, and a painting planned for the ceiling of the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France. His work continues to develop in exciting ways and is an ongoing influence on younger generations of artists. A note of interest would be that F-111 was mentioned in a chapter of Polaroids from the Dead by Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland is a Canadian novelist. His fiction is complemented by recognized works in design and visual art arising from his early formal training. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularized terms such as McJob and...
.
Personal
On April 25, 2009, a fire swept through Hernando County, Florida, where Rosenquist has lived for 30 years, burning the artist's house, studios, and warehouse. All of his paintings stored on his property were destroyed, including art for an upcoming show.External links
- Rosenquist's official site (Requires Macromedia Flash)
- Photographs of James Rosenquist by photographer Russ Blaise
- Interview with db artmag
- Pop Art Masters – James Rosenquist
- In the Studio: James Rosenquist
- Interview with Myartspace
- Exhibition The Hole in the Center of Time with the latest works at Jablonka Galerie, Berlin
- Rosenquist's Discover Graphics, the Smithsonian Art Collectors Program.
- Rosenquist Writ Large, by Himself, Dwight Garner, The New York Times, October 27, 2009